The purchase or implementation of a call center on demand product is often framed as an economic issue. For most companies, it is just that. It’s a way to avoid having to shell out six or seven figures for a premises-based solution that will be obsolete in just a year or two. It’s also a way to bring cost-saving programs such as home-based agents or remote workers online – and a way to avoid having to keep a fully staffed IT department waiting in the wings to iron out software bugs.

While the call center on demand model is all these things, it’s also a lot more. It’s a way of easily bringing multichannel or omnichannel customer support online in an era when customers are increasingly demanding it. It’s also a way to serve the needs of the newest up-and-coming generation of customers, the millennials.

Watch the average teenager for 10 minutes today and you’ll note that he or she does a lot of texting and spends a lot of time on social media, primarily with a smartphone. (Though…not necessarily via Facebook (News - Alert), which has been relegated to “Mom” and “Dad” territory by the average teen.) Increasingly, this is the way these customers, who have an increasing share of buying power, will expect to engage with companies, according to a recent blog post by Michele Masterson writing for Smart Customer Service.

“Even with this evidence, many companies have still short-changed their Millennial customers, ignoring the two channels on which most Millennials communicate—social media and mobile,” wrote Masterson. “A recent International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) survey of more than 400 contact center managers found that 68 percent of businesses recognized social media as a necessary service channel, yet only 60 percent had a formal social customer care initiative in place. A second study by ICMI showed similar results for mobile care, with 61 percent not yet providing service through that channel.”

While companies are busy chasing Baby Boomers and Gen-X, who do have a significant amount of spending power, they are not preparing for their next generation of customers. With a robust call center on demand solution, companies can do both: service older consumers in the ways they prefer, while at the same time building up the infrastructure they will need to please younger customers. There is evidence that younger consumers have even less patience for waiting than their parents: they expect lightning-fast responses, something that older infrastructures won’t allow companies to provide.

“Keep in mind that Millennials are the most digitally connected generation and have grown up texting, posting, tweeting, and chatting online,” wrote Masterson. “If that's where they live, that's where your customer service needs to be.”